If you are yet to set foot in any far-flung town and would wish to visit, you will really appreciate the input of someone well-versed in the geography of the place to introduce you to the neighborhood as your tour guide.

If the new place you envisage visiting is Mombasa, then you would really appreciate Jacob William Maunda's song, "Nahangaika Mombasa."

Apparently, the composer set out on a journey to trace his lover, Mary Mueni, who had quit her home in Ukambani, Kenya, and left for Mombasa.

The places listed as visited by the composer of the song are Changamwe, Chaani, Magongo, Miritini, Jomvu, Shimanzi, Makande, Makupa, Tononoka, Tudor, Kingorani, Majengo, Ganjoni, Kibokoni, Wandureni, Mwembe Tayari, Mtongwe, Diani, Kisauni, Likoni, and Ukunda, among others. The song is an introduction to Mombasa, sung in a classical, slow rumba style with a very creative rhythm guitar. It is an unforgettable track. It is this kind of music that makes a song stick in a listener's mind for a long time, and possibly a lifetime. So, who was Jacob William Maunda? This is a question that will make us veer away from music. It happens that the musician was not just a musician, but also a journalist who plied his trade with the state broadcaster, VOK (later KBC), as a news anchor.

His name was synonymous with Swahili prime-time news bulletins. For years, he read news for the radio station in an era when radio was the principal source of news for most Kenyans, and VOK dominated the airwaves as the only local radio station. Families gathered around their radio receivers and listened keenly to catch up with what was happening around the globe.

The veteran news anchor was born in Kenya's Eastern Province but began his primary education in Tanzania, where his father worked as a locomotive driver for the East African Railways. Maunda, who was born in February 1950, came back to Kenya from Tanzania to continue his education at Mbukuni Primary School in Kilome in the Lower Eastern region. He later joined Kilungu Secondary School in Kilome for his secondary education, then got employed by the East African Community. He was posted to Tanzania, where he studied a secretarial course at the East African Community College. He worked with the East African Community until the organization collapsed in 1977, when he returned to Kenya. Maunda then joined the state broadcaster and worked for the corporation until his retirement.

Among the big names at the state broadcaster in those days were Ali Salim Manga, Billy Omala, Isaac Anunda Sakwa, Amina Faki, Elizabeth Obege, Anacklet Araba, Hamisi Themo, and many others. The state broadcaster later sponsored him to pursue a diploma course at KIMC in the mid-1980s. In those days, the state literally ran the affairs of the broadcaster in a bid to influence public opinion by skewing what was disseminated. "A minister or a senior state official would call to reprimand you if you did something they did not agree with," Maunda was once quoted as saying in an interview with a local TV station.

He took early retirement to concentrate on music in 2001, but upon retiring from VOK, which had since rebranded to KBC, Maunda still worked for Musyi FM, where he served in a managerial position.

His voice did not just grace the microphones of the state broadcaster; it found its way into music studios as well. His broadcasting career was intertwined with his musical career. Maunda, who was still an active musician and performing at Makuti Vibrations in Machakos a few months before his death, began his music career in his teenage years. It all began while he lived with his father in Tanzania. Together with his agemates, he formed the East African Community Band. He began as a singer but, while there, learned how to play the guitar and became a skilled solo guitarist.

When he came back to Kenya, he formed Mukasu Band, which did not last long before disbanding. That is when he formed Mukaa Super International, a name he adopted from his birthplace.

This is the band he performed with throughout his life. Most people thought he was merely a studio musician because of his engagement as a news anchor at VOK, but that was not the case. He performed regularly in clubs. He was a gifted singer with a smooth baritone voice and an accomplished solo guitarist. Apart from "Nahangaika Mombasa," his other popular songs included "Mkimbizi wa Mapenzi," "Jirani Roho Mbaya," and many others. He also composed a song in praise of Mwai Kibaki, who served as Kenya's president from 2002 to 2013. Maunda died of a heart attack at Kenyatta National Hospital on 13 August 2012. He was survived by two widows and several children. He left his mark in both music and journalism, and the manner in which he juggled the two with ease will remain a subject of admiration for many years to come. These were easily two men in one.


BY JEROME OGOLA

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One of the opposition members elected to serve in the cabinet was Wycliffe Oparanya from Western Kenya. As it happens with politicians, such achievements are feted with a goat-eating party back at home. In this case, Oparanya hosted a party at his rural home, and the most celebrated musician from the region was invited to grace the event.

Wilson Onzere Ongaro, also known by the moniker Sukuma Bin Ongaro, was the man invited to grace the event as the region's most successful musician. Sukuma Bin Ongaro, from Kakamega County, has, for the last 64 years, been a musical superstar with hundreds of recorded works to his name.

“Bana bamalile mioko” (children are clearing a cassava field) is a phrase from one of his popular hits. This line captures the sad situation that children in rural areas face in accessing basic needs like food. He complains about how children invade his farm to harvest his cassava, pushed by the pangs of hunger. This is from the song “Kila Siku Suku.”

Ongaro has a tendency to use simple illustrations to capture the challenges facing society, as in this case. Such is the explanation for why his songs are on everyone's lips, despite him singing in Kisa, a dialect of the Luhya tribe.

Sukuma Bin Ongaro is a self-made musician. As opposed to many musicians who discover their talents in school, Ongaro, whose mother brewed and sold busaa, a traditional beer, never got an opportunity to attend school. He made his first instrument from locally available materials and taught himself how to play. However, it was not until 1962, when he made his maiden trip to Nairobi in search of greener pastures, that he got his first opportunity to record a song.

He had met David Amunga, a singing sensation of the era, and this is the man who acquainted him with the basics of music and introduced him to conventional instruments such as the guitar. Sukuma would later become a very good solo guitarist, composer, and vocalist. He also played bass and rhythm guitars.

Among his very first recordings was a song he composed for Jomo Kenyatta, whom he extolled as a freedom fighter and a great statesman whom the country greatly admired in the early days of independence. He also composed a song for his father titled “Wacha Tumlie Baba Ongaro.”

“Over the years, I have been composing and recording at least a dozen songs each year,” Ongaro was quoted as saying by a local media house, while stating that he cannot remember all the songs he has composed so far.

Benga, having begun in what was Central Nyanza in the late 1950s, spread so fast across the country in the 1960s, and this is the genre in which Ongaro excelled. He became one of the biggest names as far as Luhya benga is concerned. Benga gained footing by displacing twist in the country. In the era of twist, Western Kenya was the citadel of the genre, with several superstars tracing their roots to the region. Among them were Daudi Kabaka, John Nzenze, David Amunga, Isaya Mwinamo, Reuben Shimbiro, George Mukabi, and others. However, with benga sweeping the country, new names emerged, including Jacob Luseno, Nhongesa Muganda, and others specializing in benga. Ongaro became one of them.

His other hit, “Ndatsia Mombasa,” whose composition was inspired by a trip to the coastal town, remains one of his popular songs. Singing mostly in his vernacular, Ongaro has, over the years, earned a position as one of the country's most prominent musicians, with his songs gaining regular airplay on the radio and from DJs in entertainment joints.

Ongaro laments that piracy was a major setback in the music industry during his peak, while at the same time blaming fake friends for taking advantage of his generosity and drinking most of his earnings, thus preventing him from gainfully using the proceeds from music to build his own empire.

Sukuma is a Swahili word meaning “push.” Ongaro says that he chose the word as his stage name because, in his nascent days as a musician, he had lots of pushing to do, as every odd seemed to work against him. It is from the word that his band, “Suku Jazz,” got its name.

Ongaro switched allegiance from secular to gospel music, but with a caveat that he would still perform strictly on invitation. His shift from secular to gospel also means that he discarded his old ways, including his drinking habits. As a gospel musician, he has done a few songs, among them “Ongaro Amepata Yesu,” “Sikujua Nitaokoka,” and “Mapasta.”

He also relinquished the leadership of his Suku Band to his son, who also grew up to become a musician, in line with the aphorism that suggests that “snakes give birth to something long,” or that a fruit does not fall far from the tree.

Sukuma lives in his rural home in Ebukambili, Khwisero Sub-County, Kakamega County. At 79, he is undoubtedly one of the towering giants of Kenyan music, having lived through several generations. Ongaro lives in his rural home with his two wives and has thirteen children.

BY JEROME OGOLA

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I remember visiting one cassette vendor and, upon checking his display, noticing that one musician dominated the board: Alpha Blondy, an Ivorian reggae sensation of the era.

The music was also playing on a horn speaker in a stand hoisted by the vendor to market his music. Maybe it is for these reasons that Blondy's songs were on everyone's lips.

His songs, "Masada" and "Brigadier Sabari," among many others, were household names at the time. Reggae was particularly attractive to the country's young population because of its predominant themes of slavery and revolution topics that resonated well with them owing to the rebellious spirit often associated with groups struggling for identity.

It also happened that Kenya’s only broadcaster, VOK, had an editorial policy that discouraged such songs, perhaps for fear that the lyrics might plant seeds of discord among the youth. As such, reggae remained largely confined to clubs and local dances until much later, when the genre was popularized by Jeff Mwangemi on the radio through the programme Reggae Time, which aired every Thursday morning.

The authorities' disdain for the genre only stoked the country's thirst for reggae. Having Lucky Dube as the only other prominent African reggae musician made the Ivorian polyglot an even more powerful brand.

Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Koné in Dimbokro, Côte d'Ivoire, on January 1, 1953. Young Seydou began his musical journey while still a high school student at St. Elizabeth School. He later proceeded to college in Monrovia, the capital of neighboring Liberia.

He subsequently moved to the United States, where he studied English at Hunter College in New York. It was there that he was introduced to Rastafarianism by Jamaican musicians he encountered during his stay. Upon returning to his home country, he recorded his first album, Jah Glory, which became an instant hit.

This was the album that contained the song "Brigadier Sabari." The song inadvertently became an anthem of resistance, not just in Abidjan but across Africa. Although Africa had freed itself from the yoke of colonialism more than a decade earlier, it was still grappling with the realities of underdevelopment, poor human rights records, and extreme poverty.

The first generation of leaders, many of whom had been the faces of their countries' struggles for independence, turned out to be no better than the colonizers and, in some cases, were even worse. This plunged the continent into a wave of coups. Naturally, Seydou's songs became very popular. By then, he had adopted the stage name Alpha Blondy.

"To reach a bigger audience, you have to sing in many languages," Alpha was once quoted as saying by a French newspaper.

With the ability to sing in English, French, Arabic, Hebrew, and his native Dioula, the polyglot had an edge over many reggae musicians. Bob Marley was his greatest role model, and it was therefore no surprise that he traveled to Jamaica to record his album Jerusalem at Marley's Tuff Gong Studios.

His 1985 album Apartheid Is Nazism strongly condemned apartheid in South Africa. The segregation that separated native South Africans from the ruling white minority had reached a fever pitch, with the entire continent uniting in condemnation of the injustice. This struggle naturally found expression in music, and reggae, through this Ivorian singer, became one of its most powerful voices.

Alpha Blondy suffered mental health challenges in the late 1980s, forcing him to take breaks from music. However, each time he recovered, he returned with a new album. He also spent time in Europe, from where he released songs inspired by global events, including "Yitzhak Rabin" following the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister.

Worth noting is that his views on religion also found their way into his music. He advocated for harmony among the three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam frequently reflected these themes in his songs.

Alpha Blondy has recorded more than 20 albums, comprising more than 100 songs. Among his popular songs are Apartheid Is Nazism, Brigadier Sabari, Cocody Rock, Come Back Jesus, I Wish You Were Here, Jah Glory, Jerusalem, Masada, Peace In Liberia, Pardon, and many more.

Blondy is still active in music and continues to perform internationally. One of his recent high-profile performances was at a presidential event attended by Alassane Ouattara. He remains one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of African music and one of the continent's most celebrated reggae musicians, alongside the late South African icon Lucky Dube.

BY: JEROME OGOLA

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This name featured prominently in what Congolese refer to as "kobwaka libanga," a term that means mentioning a name in a song. The name was also mentioned at the commencement of almost all VOK programs in those days. It went beyond that; despite not always getting a direct mention, George Fombe was the sound technician behind several audio commercials aired by the state broadcaster in those days.

When you hear "Sportsman ni sawa hasa," a very popular advertisement for a British American Tobacco cigarette brand, it was recorded by George Fombe.

George Fombe, who says the moniker "Yahoo" was a popular name that came by accident and didn't mean anything, was the brain behind the recordings of several top Kenyan musicians and many others from East Africa. Vigelegele by Western Jazz, a Tanzanian band headed by Shamba Ramadhani, was his recording, as was Nawashukuru Wazazi Wangu by Black Warriors, comprising musicians from DDC who had opted to do a recording outside the band's system. He also recorded Maquis Du Zaire and many others.

Ochieng Kabasele's Nyar Kanyamuot, among many other hits by this musician, was also recorded by George Fombe, who has stuck to his trade to date without any intentions of ever seeking retirement.

George has recorded several top Congolese bands, including Virunga. Others include local superstars such as Kakai Kilonzo, Francis Rugwiti, Joseph Kamaru, Joseph Gicheha, Albert 'Wamaitu' Gacheru, Daniel Kamau 'DK', Peter Kigia, David Kasyoki Wamutoo, and Katitu Boys Band, Charles Musyoki Kikumbi and Kimangu Boys Band, and Martin Mulwa Muthoka and Mananja Boys Band.

In those days, the country's sole broadcaster was VOK, which ran three services: National Service, General Service, and vernacular stations. The state broadcaster did not record any commercials or privately sponsored programs; these were done by outsourced production houses. It is for this reason that George Fombe "Yahoos" became a household name in the era as a popular sound technician, also known as fundi wa mitambo.

Some of the programs that passed through his hands were "Sanyo Juu, Sanyo Top," which was initially done by Tido Muhando and then taken over by Fred Obachi Machoka. Others were "Maisha Bora na East African Industries" by Amina Fakii and "Ongeza Maarifa" by Joshua Makale, among others.

George Fombe was born in Nairobi's Eastleigh in March 1949 and attended Racecourse DEB Primary School before joining Pumwani Secondary School. His mother was a nurse. He was then employed at the High Fidelity studios, where he was taught the craft of recording by Hakam, an Asian sound engineer.

He had been taken to High Fidelity by Simon Ndesanjo, a London-trained and respected broadcast journalist who also plied his trade with VOK. Ndesanjo was his brother-in-law. When Ndesanjo bought CBS Records, George relocated with him.

In later days, CBS was acquired by Andrew Crawford, which meant that George Fombe, already a big name in the trade, became an employee of the production house. Worth noting is that Andrew Crawford later acquired High Fidelity, thus reuniting George Fombe with his former acquaintances.

This production house has also been associated with veteran producer Betty Tett, whose siblings Sheila Tett and Margaret Safari formed part of the iconic Kenya Blue Stars, yet another band whose success is largely attributable to George Fombe's production skills.

Among his peers were Isaya Mwinamo and Christopher Mbindyo of Polygram, Babu Kanyottu of Sawa, Babu Shah, and many others. Although technological advancements have redefined music production, with machines replacing central positions previously occupied by human beings, the roles played by the pioneers cannot easily be erased from the country's history.

BY JEROME OGOLA 

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Perhaps no explanation can ever settle the matter completely, but the difference between the two is actually broad and quite clear.

We begin with the word “rhumba.” According to several dictionaries, rhumba is a collective noun for rattlesnakes. Strictly speaking, the word is therefore alien to musical discourse, despite some people insisting that it is merely an alternative spelling of rumba.

Rumba, on the other hand, is a music genre. The term traces its etymological roots to the Caribbean island of Cuba, where the genre evolved. Initially, the word referred to a party or festive gathering before later becoming associated with a dance style among enslaved African populations.

These Africans arrived in Latin America through the Transatlantic slave trade, which saw millions transported to the Caribbean to work mainly on sugarcane plantations. They carried their traditions with them, especially percussion-centered folk dances. In the Caribbean, these African rhythms blended with Spanish musical influences, giving birth to rumba.

By the early 1930s, this music found its way back to Africa after undergoing what may be described as “repackaging,” much like Kenyan coffee exported abroad, processed into instant coffee, then sold back across the world, including Kenya itself.

With the growing popularity of Cuban records in Africa, particularly after the spread of gramophones, first-generation Congolese musicians such as Adou Elenga, Paul Kamba, Antoine Mundanda, Léon Bukasa, Camille Feruzi, and Wendo Kolosoy began imitating the Cuban style, with some even singing in Spanish. This marked another important phase in the genre’s evolution. This coincided with the advent of recording technology in Africa, with several Greek record companies setting up base in Leopoldville, now known as Kinshasa.

However, they did not merely copy the music as it came. They fused it with aspects of the Congo’s rich indigenous musical traditions, reshaping the sound into something distinctly African. In doing so, they clothed the evolving genre in a new cultural outfit, creating what musicologists today call Congolese rumba. The music performed by Franco Luambo, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Dr. Nico Kasanda, Verckys Kiamuangana, and Koffi Olomide is therefore classified as Congolese rumba.

Over the years, this genre has often been incorrectly referred to as “Lingala music,” especially in Kenya and across East Africa. The misconception arises from the fact that much of the music is sung in Lingala, though not always.

Lingala itself is not a genre of music but a Bantu language widely spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and parts of Central Africa. It evolved from Bobangi, a trade language used by communities living along the Congo River. Colonial expansion further spread the language due to the absence of a common medium of communication across the vast Congo region. Although Lingala is not spoken throughout the entire country, it is widely used in many regions. It is also spoken in parts of the Central African Republic and Angola.

The DRC has more than 250 indigenous languages, most of them Bantu. The country recognizes four national languages: Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, and Tshiluba, while French remains the sole official language inherited from Belgian colonial rule. In that sense, referring to the genre as “Lingala music” carries a certain logic because the phrase simply means music sung in Lingala. Nevertheless, the more accurate term is Congolese rumba.

The confusion is amplified further by song titles such as “Lingala Ya Yesu,” a gospel song popular in Nairobi. The phrase is linguistically awkward, rather like saying “Kiswahili Ya Yesu.”

As earlier noted in articles by the Jabulani team, another term often associated with Congolese rumba is soukous, especially in European academic and media circles. That is partly why even Franco Luambo is sometimes described on platforms such as Wikipedia as a soukous musician. In reality, soukous is a subgenre of Congolese rumba, much like bolero, merengue, cha-cha-cha, pachanga, and cavacha. Soukous reached the height of its popularity during the 1980s and 1990s, propelled largely by the migration of Congolese musicians to Europe, which commercialized and globalized the music even further.

To wrap it up, rhumba is a term alien to music discourse. Rumba, on the other hand, is a genre of music that evolved from Afro-Cuban dance rhythms blended with African musical traditions, while Lingala is a language. Congolese rumba is the music performed by Franco and his contemporaries. The distinction between the two is therefore wide, clear, and unmistakable.

BY: JEROME OGOLA

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The brushes, the paints, and the palette share the ignorance. Just like the canvas, they too have no idea that the man whose passion and skills turned canvases into marvelous paintings is no more and will not be visiting the studios again.

Sunset has come for the "barefoot philosopher" who walked without shoes in the studios, saying he couldn't reason well while wearing shoes.

Renowned painter Patrick Mukabi died last week at Kenyatta National Hospital after a lengthy battle with diabetes. Patrick, also known as Panye, was a towering figure in the country for his immense contribution to the field of fine arts, where he excelled as an artist, teacher, and mentor to many.

The veteran painter was born in Nairobi some 56 years ago. His parents worked for Kenya Railways. He was schooled in the same city, started drawing while young, and honed his skills at the Creative Art Centre with a basic illustration course, and later joined the Kenya Polytechnic, where he pursued a certificate in graphic design.

Patrick wasn't your ordinary painter. He was exceptional. His art spoke loudly. In the Cover Girls series, he brought to the fore the beauty of an African woman as captured in her chores, what can be described as her natural habitat. He drew them colorful and voluptuous, with emphasis on their curvaceous figures, clothed in colorful kanga.

Fine arts are far less appreciated in developing countries in comparison to music, comedy, and other categories. For one to rise to the top in this sphere is in itself testimony that he had no peers in the trade. He was, simply put, outstanding. His iconic works beautify Java centers across the country. His art has also graced various exhibitions in the country and beyond.

Apart from the Cover Girls series, he also excelled in drawing a musicians' series. This was inspired by his love for music. He did dozens of works that captured instrumentalists, i.e., guitarists, saxophonists, drummers, and others. He also used blurred lines to bring out the music.

Those hearts his art couldn't reach were possibly won over by his mentorship. His Dust Depo Studio was a drawing academy that mentored and nurtured many. In the studios, aspiring artists received materials and lessons in good measure.

His mentorship went beyond the studios. He also got involved in training new talents in schools, malls, and other venues. He also taught on TV, including Citizen on Saturdays and other stations. For this, it is highly likely that almost every Kenyan has encountered him in one way or another.

With his art beautifying airports, hotel walls, and other spaces in the country and abroad, Mukabi was on several occasions quoted as saying that his most treasured contribution wasn't even any of the drawings or paintings, but the impact he had in training and mentoring budding talent.

Demand for his skills also went beyond the boundaries of the country. He traveled abroad to more than 20 countries in Europe and elsewhere, honing the skills of budding painters. He became a global icon recognized for his contribution to art.

Unfortunately, with all this fame, when he became sick, friends had to step in for him, organizing exhibitions to raise money for his treatment. This possibly tells a story of how artists still struggle with the challenges of inadequacy to the extent of being unable to afford medication, despite their celebrity status.

His many students have been orphaned by his death. Jimmy Kitheka has been quoted as extolling the kindness of Mukabi's heart. He said that Mukabi would spare a shilling to buy materials for his students. He said he came to Nairobi with nothing, but Mukabi taught him how to use recycled materials and how to believe in his work.

A Facebook page dedicated to art mourned him with these words:

"A legend has put down his brush, but his canvas remains forever bright. His presence and artistry touched so many lives, and while his journey here has ended, his light continues to shine through the community he built and the artists he inspired. Eternal rest grants unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him."

His brush may dry with his demise, but just as his Facebook page remains alive with the colorful paintings of the Soko Soko series, his art will speak to the world, for the world, for long.

By Jerome Ogola

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Nguza and his son were both incarcerated in a Dar es Salaam prison in Tanzania for 15 years. The story drew the interest and attention of the entire region, with the international community seeking to intervene. To understand Nguza, we must introduce a band known as Maquis du Zaire. Nguza, also known as Field Marshal, was a lethal soloist with the band. His unique solo guitar can be sampled in the song "Wakati Nilikuwa Mdogo" from the Karubandika album.

Maquis du Zaire began in Katanga in the mid-1960s under the name Super Gaby. The band then shifted its base to Likasi before finally making forays eastwards. It is narrated that in 1971, they ended up in Tanzania, despite having commenced the journey with the intention of going to Uganda. Ndala Kasheba, a music giant of the day, is said to have influenced their final decision to settle in Tanzania.

In Tanzania, Maquis found favor with fans due to the talent in its ranks. The band became very popular and attracted even more superstars. At some point, the band had up to 40 members—a very large size by any standards. This was also a unique band because they ventured outside of music and invested heavily in land and property from the proceeds of their music. This was a path hitherto uncharted by other outfits.

The band was headed by sax player Tshinyama Tshiyanza and boasted an array of talent, including Field Marshal Nguza Viking, sax player Kanku Kelly, and bassist Banza Mchafu. Others included Tshimanga Asosa, King Kiki, Dekula Kahanga, Kasal Kyanga, Mutombo Lufungula, and many others.

Nguza was born Tshimbuiza Tshisenze in Katanga, DRC, on April 5, 1953. He began his music career in his teenage years and made a name for himself as an astute composer and guitarist with the band. He became a household name once the band settled in Tanzania. However, with the band's changing fortunes—crippled by a string of deaths and defections—Nguza remained active in the music scene and even introduced some of his children to music, capitalizing on his experience.

Nguza's tribulations began on the evening of October 12, 2003, when he was arrested alongside his three sons and a teacher from a local school, Mashujaa Primary School in Sinza. They were detained at Magomeni Police Station for five days without any charges being preferred, a development which would later open a Pandora’s box regarding the fairness of their conviction.

On the sixth day, they were taken to court and charged with defiling ten pupils from Mashujaa Primary School. The trial began in earnest. Among the loopholes later cited in the case was that the victims were never formally introduced to the court or even interrogated in camera. This aroused suspicion about the merits of the case.

The case proceeded to a full trial, and in 2004, the teacher and two of Nguza's sons were acquitted, while Nguza and Papi Kocha were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Several appeal trials were thwarted by the prosecution, despite glaring anomalies—such as the fact that the charge sheet stated the two had infected the victims with AIDS, yet tests confirmed that neither was HIV positive.

Away from the court, the public seemed to have a clear picture of what was happening. In low tones, murmurs abounded that Nguza had been entangled in a love triangle involving a woman who was the wife of a prominent figure in the Kikwete administration. Talk was rife that the said person of influence had, through intermediaries, conveyed information to Nguza that he would be "dealt with" if he did not pull out of the relationship; thus, the whole trial process was viewed as a charade by a junior officer acting under instructions from above.

With no opening for freedom in sight, the lawyers representing the duo sought intervention from the African Court of Justice. Other means were attempted by the duo, who, while incarcerated, composed a song dedicated to Kikwete that pleaded their innocence and begged for leniency. This, too, bore no fruit.

The matter attracted attention again across the entire region as the African Court of Justice opted to explore the loopholes to seek justice for the duo. In 2017, this author wrote an open letter to John Pombe Magufuli, the then-Tanzanian President. The open letter was a cry from music fans, seeking the President's intervention and a possible presidential amnesty, taking a cue from the power of mercy granted to him by the country's constitution in the wake of allegations that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred.

The letter went viral on online platforms, and on the advice of some influential people in Tanzania, this author was asked to write an email to the official State House address. It is not possible to determine whether this caught the attention of the President or if it just amplified the calls for a review of the case that had hit a crescendo.

Later that year, President Magufuli released the duo via a presidential amnesty. He subsequently invited them to the State House, offered a public apology on behalf of the Tanzanian government, and pledged to compensate the duo for their wrongful incarceration. This was interpreted by the public as an admission of guilt by the authorities. The case of Nguza Viking and his son is often debated not just as a story of musicians convicted of a crime, but as a deliberate instance of someone in authority misusing power to disenfranchise the vulnerable.

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A woman should not get married simply because society wants her to, or because she has reached what is considered the “right age” for marriage. “Mbona watoto wa nyuma yako wameolewa, wamekuwacha ukihangaika?” (How come your younger siblings are all getting married before you?)

Apparently, those who dropped out of school to start families are viewed as achievers in this context, while she who worked hard in class and even pursued further education abroad becomes a subject of ridicule. If Kabaka were alive, maybe we would ask him to take this wonderful song back to the studio, revise the lyrics, and align them with present-day realities. Otherwise, a contemporary mind would advise “msichana wa sura nzuri” to only get married when she is convinced it is the right decision for her, and not because anyone expects her to.

Again, discussants in a marriage discourse rarely agree on every detail. Whereas marriage has worked perfectly well for some, for others, it does not. As such, there has never been a consensus on matters of marriage, thus providing yet another angle from which to approach the debate. The above excerpt is an opinion this writer gave in response to an online debate about “Msichana wa Elimu.” In yet another debate on the song “Bachelor Boy,” he wrote this:

“A popular tale chides struggling young men, noting that while other old men were seriously prospecting for wealth in the city and acquiring plots, their grandfather was busy twisting his legs to the dance craze of the day, popularly known as twist. To me, this claim seems to point an accusing finger at Kabaka’s song ‘Bachelor Boy,’ and specifically his clarion call: ‘Bachelor boy wenzangu, twisty, twisty.’ This song also reveals another side of Kabaka. It seems he expected the ‘msichana wa elimu’ to get married before she grew too old, while he himself could not marry because ‘mimi siwezi kuwacha raha za mjini.’ Isn’t this an advocacy for recklessness? A masculine society, so rigid toward the girl child, yet very willing to bend and accommodate the excesses of the boy child.”

These two anecdotes showcase how the musician Daudi Kabaka managed to set the agenda by composing songs that would inform national debates in online forums many decades after his death. Kabaka was a social critic who used his music to address matters central to society’s moral fiber, and that is what earned him the moniker “Mtoboa Siri.” That was not his only moniker; he was also referred to as the King of Twisty.

His rise to this throne is attributed to his immense contribution to the genre, which had evolved at Equator Records, owned by Charles Worrod in Nairobi. That he was the King of Twisty is not debatable. It is so certain. He excelled in the era of the music genre coined by Charles Worrod, the English producer regarded as the father of the genre, who also owned Equator Sounds, a band housed under Equator Records in Nairobi.

Equator Sounds was established in 1960 when Charles Worrod bought East African Records and Jambo Sounds, then amalgamated and rebranded them into Equator Records. This recording house had a band known as Equator Sounds, having rebranded from Jambo Sounds. It was one of the pioneer bands in the country and featured the services of talented musicians such as Daudi Kabaka himself, Nashil Pichen, Fadhili Williams, Peter Tsotsi, George Agade, Bernard Ayuya, among others. All these were fully professional musicians.

Charles, a Briton, came to Kenya from South Africa. It is from the Zulu dance “kwela” that he borrowed elements, blending them with an American twist and also incorporating aspects of East African music to come up with a very popular genre known as twisty. Having been a central pillar in both the studio and the band, Kabaka assumed the kingship of Twisty. He made several very popular recordings during this era and also played guitar in many other songs within the genre. He played solo guitar in “Angelike Twist” by John Nzenze, among many others, and also mentored him in guitar playing.

Some of the most well-known songs, like “Bachelor Boy,” are his compositions, recorded by Equator Sounds. Others include “Kazi Ngumu,” “Mie Kabaka,” “Safari ya Nigeria,” “Amlofa,” “Kilio Ng’ambo Kwetu,” and “Safari ya Tabora,” among many others. Worth noting is that he also recorded some of these songs in rumba versions. Twisty became a very popular genre among urban sophisticates in the 1960s, making Kabaka a superstar and a household name. Other notable names in the genre included John Nzenze (also known as Amutabi), Isaya Mwinamo, Reuben Shimbiro, and George Mukabi, among others. Equator also enjoyed an elaborate distribution network across the region; thus, all the songs under its label enjoyed popularity beyond Kenyan borders.

While researching Ochieng Kabasele’s memoirs, the pivotal role Kabaka played in the country’s music scene became evident. One evening, Kabaka was passing by Jericho and noticed some young men practicing. He stopped and became interested upon noting how good they were. Their leader was a 17-year-old Ochieng Kabasele, a Form Three student at Pumwani Secondary School. Kabaka took the young man to Equator Records, and that is how Kabasele’s first four songs—“Naftali,” “Nyak Konge,” “Lek,” and “GK”—were recorded.

Among the musicians who participated in the recordings was Kabaka himself, who played solo guitar. Gabriel Omollo, who later worked with Apollo Komesha, played bass, according to Babu Kabasele. Kabaka’s role in the evolution of Kenyan music was so significant that some consider him the father of Kenyan music. Songs like “Harambee Harambee,” the country’s unofficial independence anthem, were his compositions, as were other iconic songs like “Msichana wa Elimu,” which opened a can of worms with speculation that Kabaka may have had a specific person in mind while composing it.

Kabaka’s team at Equator Sounds would later become big names in their own right. Thus, dozens of the country’s pioneer musicians were, in one way or another, linked to him. Daudi Kabaka was born in Uganda in 1939. However, he relocated to Nairobi at a young age with his father, who worked for the East African Railways. He was named Daudi Kabaka after a Baganda king who had died that same year. He joined Equator Records, then known as Jambo Records, in 1959. His death in 2001, at the age of 62, brought the curtain down on the illustrious career of one of the most impactful musicians in the country.

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“Dino Vangu changed the style of Afrisa International when he took over from Dizzy Mandjeku,” Faugus Izeidi once opined. Faugus, a younger brother of Roger Izeidi, was himself a star mi-solo guitarist with the same band but quit years earlier to create his own band, Fiesta Populaire.

What makes a solo guitarist such a star member that some bands only pay solo guitarists, while others pay them more than any other ordinary members? Isn't music a collective effort? As such, is fame not supposed to spread fairly to all members?

Rumba music is a technical genre that runs on guitars. Of the three—bass, rhythm, and solo guitar—it is the solo that tracks the melody of the song, making it more noticeable, although this may not necessarily mean it is the most important. This means it is the lead instrument, while the rhythm guitar remains the most foundational. This is important in the sense that if one instrument fails to work and the band has no choice but to proceed crippled, they will use the instrument as a rhythm guitar and do away with the solo guitar.

Bill Alexandre, the proprietor of CEFA Studios in Kinshasa (then known as Léopoldville) established in 1955, is the person who introduced the electric guitar to Congolese music. Despite having the acoustic guitar and some other instruments like the bulky contrabass, the electric guitar henceforth became the engine of Congolese Rumba, with other instruments being relegated to mere spices or additional sweeteners.

A rhythm guitar is the oldest element in any song. In most cases, it is the very first, in the sense that it is used while the song is being composed. Composition in this context means the creation of the melody. However, the song only wears the complete face of a song once it has been given a solo guitar.

This unique aspect makes the solo guitarist a star in any band’s lineup. It is also worth noting that every solo guitarist is able to play rhythm guitar, but not every rhythm guitarist can play solo. In the path of learning, every trainee begins by learning the chords; rhythm guitar is acquired by striking patterns repeatedly, while for solo, the player roams the fretboard to follow the melody.

This means that in performances, the most vigorous guitarist whose hands roam the entire fretboard is the soloist. It also happens that most musicians who sing and play guitar are solo guitarists and not rhythmists. This does not mean all, but a few examples at hand include Mbaraka Mwinshehe, the soloist par excellence.

While Charles Ray Kasembe played rhythm and was less known, Mbaraka played solo and was the star personality in the Super Volcano band. Of course, this was for some other reasons as well. Mopero Wa Maloba of the Shama Shama fame also played solo while singing, and this made him the star of the Cavacha band, whose leadership he shared with Dona Mobeti before quitting to create his own.

Franco Luambo Luanzo Makiadi of OK Jazz began as a guitarist but could also sing. He was to become the band’s most recognized singer when he took to the microphone. Despite being the bandleader and the face of OK Jazz, he was still the most recognized member, of course, owing to some other reasons and the reality that he was the star solo guitarist.

The band’s other solo guitarists—Moses Fanfan, Mavatiku Visi (also known as Michelino), Papa Noel, Thierry Mantuika, and Gerry Dialungana—also got their fair share of fame, quantitatively more prominent than the rhythmists among them: Simaro Lutumba, Gege Mangaya, Petit Pierre, Armando Mwango Brazzos (who played the contrabass), and Ya Makoso Kindudi.

Having made a name as a master composer, doing philosophical songs delivered in figurative language, and having served long as Franco’s deputy, made Simaro (also known as Le Poète) more known than his rhythm peers. But still, in concerts, the solo guitarists always gobbled more limelight than him.

The same can be said of the Kalekezi duo, also known as the Kinyonga, of Simba Wanyika fame. Wilson, the eldest and the founder of Arusha Jazz, began as a little-known rhythmist for Jamhuri Jazz. He brought his brother into the fold, and when he left, he tagged along his younger brother, George Peter, who began as a bassist. Both were later to become solo guitarists and star attractions in Simba Wanyika, where they played interchangeably in the solo guitar role. They were the band’s most recognized members, more so than the rhythmists among them, including Omar Shaban and others.

In comparison, bands led by instrumentalists are more often led by solo guitarists than by players of any other instrument. Others like Tabu Ley and Nyboma were primarily singers, while others like Verckys of Veve, Kalombo Mwanza of Orchestra Basanga, Viva Makale, and Lola Shango of Boma Liwanza were saxophonists. Most, however—Franco, Bavon, Johny Bokelo, Mbaraka, Wilson Peter, and Habel Kifoto, among others—were solo guitarists.

Some rhythmists convert to solo upon becoming bandleaders. A classic example of this was Les Wanyika’s Ngereza Johnny. While a musician with Orchestra Bwambe Bwambe, he played rhythm and did it remarkably well. However, upon shifting camp to Les Wanyika, whose leadership he wrestled from Omari Shaban, he became a solo guitarist and a vocalist.

That the solo guitar is always the lead instrument in Rumba makes the player the most suitable lead singer because the roles interchange. When the vocals come up, the solo guitar, which takes the melody of the song, goes quiet. However, some rhythmists have also made names as top vocalists, as have other instrumentalists.

Yet again, some solo guitarists chose to remain just that, without venturing beyond. Examples include Dally Kimoko, Caien Madoka, Général Mandoza, Beniko Popolipo, and many others. Rhythmists who head bands include Vata Mombassa, Simaro Lutumba, and Bopol Mansiamina, among others.

Maybe fairly or unfairly, solo guitarists have always attracted more attention than any other instrumentalists in a band.

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Coming at a time when most TV programs were imported from abroad, local content naturally became an instant hit with audiences. To give a complete local touch, the producers chose the song "Tausi" as the introductory tune. The introduction was laden with significance; while the country’s entertainment was dominated by foreign art, the country also had talent that could quench that thirst.

The song was recorded in the early 1950s, making it one of the earliest songs recorded in Kenya. Alongside other hits such as "Olivia," "Ajali Haikingiki," "Jambo Singara," and others, Fundi Konde remains an important pillar of Kenyan music, having played a significant role in the nascent days of the country’s music industry. He was there from the beginning and didn’t just witness its development, but actually played an important role in shaping it.

Fundi Konde, who was born Kenga Mbogo in Kilifi on August 24, 1924, began his musical journey playing the flute while still a student in a Catholic mission school. He later debuted his career as a full-time musician when he was enrolled in the colonial military, the King’s African Rifles, with the specific role of playing the flute and entertaining soldiers. A zumari is a bamboo-made wind instrument very close to a clarinet. The instrument is central to many Giriama folk tunes, and being one, this was Fundi Konde’s entrance before learning other instruments.

Historian Levin Opiyo, in 2023, posted a video of Fundi Konde while in Sri Lanka, accompanied by a caption that read:

“King’s African Rifles entertainment group entertained East African soldiers fighting in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, in 1945 during World War II. They gave 350 performances in a year, covering 60,500 miles in Ceylon, India, and Burma. Among the soldiers performing in Southeast Asia was the hugely influential guitarist Fundi Konde, who joined the King’s African Rifles band in 1944. The double bass guitar was played by a corporal from Uganda. Another member of the band was George Senoga Zake, who was among the people responsible for producing a new national anthem for Kenya at independence.”

In the video, a young Fundi Konde is captured playing an acoustic guitar with unmatched expertise.

It was upon his return that he joined trumpeter Ngala Karani and drummer Joseph Chuza in Peter Colmore’s African Band, one of the pioneer professional bands in the country, in 1947. Fundi Konde is one of the most notable Kenyan pioneer electric guitarists. He ventured further and incorporated several genres into the traditional coastal music.

Fundi Konde also worked as a producer with the Kenya Broadcasting Service, as the national broadcaster was then known, before rebranding to VOK. While at KBS, he recorded several songs with Esther Fadhili, who was Fadhili William’s sister and also worked at the radio station.

Fundi Konde also worked with HMV (His Master’s Voice), a British record company with a subsidiary in Nairobi, as a sound engineer and musician, before switching to High Fidelity. It was there that he worked on "Malaika," a Fadhili William song whose authorship has often been disputed.

The musician, who has been praised as the "father of Kenyan music" by Them Mushrooms in the song "Daima," composed in his tribute, later settled as a music producer. The song extols his contributions to music and emphasizes his singing prowess: “kama ninga ulisikika, mashariki mwa Africa” (Like a pigeon, your voice entertained the entire East Africa). As a producer, through his hands, many great hits were made.

Several songs sung by Them Mushrooms and other Coast-based bands are either his compositions or old songs adopted from the rich coastal folk music, most of which were first recorded by Fundi Konde, while some were entirely his own compositions. He thus takes credit for having modified old traditional songs associated with the coastal traditions and making them recorded music for wider listenership beyond the Kenyan Coast.

Fundi Konde died on June 29, 2000, a death that brought to an end a career that had lasted six decades. He remains one of the icons of Kenyan music, hailing from the Coast region, which also produced greats such as Fadhili Williams, the Mushrooms Quintet (comprising five siblings from Kaloleni in Giriama: Teddy Kalanda, John Katana, Billy Saro, George Ziro, and Denis Kalume), the Pressmen Band of Albert Shehi and Willy Mwang’ombe, Adam Nadro Solomon based in Canada, Mzee Ngala of Bango fame, and many others.

Fundi Konde also mentored several musicians, an achievement that decorates his legacy further. Many upcoming stars passed through his mentorship, as he was himself a polished guitarist, composer, singer, and producer.

By Jerome Ogola

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This was a milestone in the commercialization of music and created prospects for professional musicians for the very first time. In 1960, a retired British army officer, Peter Colmore, established yet another recording label in Nairobi known as High Fidelity. This is the facility that housed Eduard Masengo and his cousin Jean Bosco Mwenda Wa Bayeke—the very first Congolese musicians to set foot in Kenya—as well as Fundi Konde and other musicians. Before the establishment of these two recording companies, a few dozen Kenyan musicians had been produced under the British label HMV. Other early record labels were CMS (Capitol Music Store), AGS (African Gramophone Store), and ASL (Associated Sounds Limited).

However, it was in 1963 when Charles Worrod, a South African of English descent, bought East African Records and rebranded it Equator Sounds, with the house band rebranding from Jambo Boys to Equator Sounds Band. This was the citadel of the country’s musical evolution. It is his creative mind that saw him experiment with a fusion of South African beats and American music, resulting in an authentic Kenyan beat, "Twist," which had a wild following in the region, earning him the sobriquet "the father of Twist."

"Harambee Harambee," the most successful of his projects, turned out to be the country’s biggest song in the era. Equator was home to the region's finest musical talents, among them Fadhili William, Daudi Kabaka, Gabriel Omollo, Ugandan Charles Ssonko, and Zambians Nashil Pichen and Peter Tsotsi. This is the recording label that recorded "Malaika," yet another hit unofficially declared the East African anthem by music aficionados of the region—a song which has so far traveled far and wide with cover versions recorded by musical big names of the world.

The advent of recording technology, which happened simultaneously with the emergence of urban life—both occurring a few years preceding the country’s independence—acted as catalysts which catapulted Africa’s music to international fame, beyond the countries' frontiers.

The DRC is a country of more than 250 ethnic communities, and the convergence of these cultures in Kinshasa provided a fertile ground for the breeding of Congolese Rumba. Of course, traveling from the villages in the countryside of the vast country to the capital in search of jobs, individuals didn’t leave their traditions at home. That is how the native culture found its way into the town, eventually spilling into the music, then in its nascent stages.

The very first record label to set foot in Kinshasa (then known as Leopoldville) was known as Ngoma, and it was owned by a Greek entrepreneur, Nicholas Jeronimidis. It was established in 1948, and the very first musicians to be signed were Wendo Kolosoy, the celebrated father of Congolese music, and Henri Bowane. The former, who had previously worked as a boat mechanic and coxswain in the waters of the Congo River (locally known as Ebale Ya Zaire), made his debut recording with the company in the same year. The song titled "Marie Louise," which is the oldest known locally recorded Congolese song, also happened to be the country’s first song to go international, putting the country on the musical map globally and, of course, internationally much later.

A second record company set up base in Kinshasa in 1950. It went by the name Opika. It was owned by Greek siblings known as Gabriel and Joseph Benatar. It was these studios that housed the evolution of African Jazz, which featured superstars Grand Kalle, Dr. Nico Kasanda, Tino Baroza, and others.

In 1952, Loningisa arrived. It was owned by another Greek, Athanase Papadimitriou. This company housed the evolution of OK Jazz. It is here that Watam, headed by Dewayon—a band that Franco featured for—signed in. This is the record label that recorded Franco's very first songs, "Kombo Ya Loningisa" and "Lilima Dis Cheri Wa Ngai," songs that were recorded in 1953 when Franco was 15 years old. OK Jazz evolved from studio musicians signed to this label.

Esengo was yet another company. It came in the mid-1950s and packed Henri Bowane, the biggest musical name in the era. Esengo had a nose for talent. They poached musicians from other companies, and it is at this studio that the phenomenal Rock-A-Mambo emerged.

The other important record label of the era was CEFA. This was founded by Bill Alexander. Bill was Belgian and not Greek like the others. Bill is the person who is credited with introducing the solo guitar in Congolese Rumba. This guitar wasn't just an improved instrument but acted like a whole new concept for the evolving genre. It became the engine that runs the genre, with other instruments acting as mere spices.

The other important record company was Veve, established in 1972 by Verckys. It housed the evolution of Cavacha, a sub-genre of Rumba that defined and dominated that third generation. This is the production house that recorded and distributed most of Congo's big bands in the 1970s. Verckys also funded bands and equipped them. These record labels played a very critical role in the development of Congolese Rumba.

By Jerome Ogola

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His death brought the curtains down on a music career that had spanned over 50 years. Born Pascal Tabu on November 29, 1940, Tabu Ley was a trailblazer of contemporary rumba and a titan of Congolese music.

So revered is Tabu Ley that the only other musician whose name is mentioned in the same breath, or even higher, is Grand Maître Luambo Luanzo Makiadi, famously known as Franco.

In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the two bands sat at the apex of the country's musical landscape as the top outfits, with competitors unable to topple them. In marking Tabu Ley’s 12th death anniversary, we seek to unmask the similarities and differences between Tabu Ley and Franco, the duo that bestrode the country’s music scene for decades like colossi.

Born two years apart, in 1938 and 1940, in Sona Bata and Bagata respectively, both were second-generation Congolese musicians who began their careers in their teenage years in Kinshasa, then known as Léopoldville, at a time when rumba was still in its nascent stages.

At 15 years old, in 1953, Franco recorded his very first release, backed by Watam, a band owned by Paul Ebengo (also known as Dewayon). For Tabu Ley, it was not until 1958 that he did his first recording, with a band known as Jazz Africaine (not African Jazz), owned by trumpeter Edo Clary Lutula. He was then 18.

Franco began earlier than Tabu Ley for obvious reasons: Ley continued to secondary school, and education consumed much of his early teenage years, unlike Franco, who left school much earlier. While many pundits attributed Franco’s exit from school to his mother’s inability to support his education after his father’s death, his aunt later clarified that Franco was simply not interested in schooling.

This introduces a raft of variances between the two titans. Early exposure to music gave Franco an opportunity to learn the tricks of the industry early enough, and that is why, by 1956, aged only 18, he created OK Jazz with others, despite never having been a member of any professional band prior.

Tabu Ley, on the other hand, had to join Rock A Mambo, Jazz Africaine, and African Jazz before finally creating African Fiesta, which he co-led with Dr Nico. It was not until 1966 that he formed his own fully owned outfit, African Fiesta National. By then, he was 26 and eight years older than Franco at the time OK Jazz was created.

Franco was the patriarch of the OK Jazz School of rumba, which he referred to as odemba. It was built on his guitar and Vicky Longomba’s vocals, as explained on Radio Jabulani by Dizzy Mandjeku, who played for both OK Jazz and Afrisa.

Tabu Ley, on the other hand, was a child of Grand Kallé’s African Jazz and remained loyal to the African Jazz School of rumba, also known as Fiesta, throughout his career. This style was defined by Dr Nico’s guitar and Grand Kallé’s singing. Other adherents included African Fiesta Sukisa of Dr. Nico, Festival Des Maquisards, Vox Africa, and many others. Those aligned to the OK Jazz School included Jean Bokelo’s Conga Success, Negro Succes, and others.

Tabu Ley was a showman with impressive choreography skills, while Franco was not. Tabu Ley’s shows were marked by immaculate performances, and he was the first musician to bring female dancers onto the stage. Franco’s concerts, meanwhile, primarily showcased vocal and instrumental expertise. Franco himself rarely danced.

Tabu Ley also appeared to appeal more to the elite, performing in venues frequented by the country’s upper class, while Franco’s band was for the masses—especially loved in informal communes such as Bandalungwa, Ngiri-Ngiri, and others.

That is not all. Franco was primarily a solo guitarist, while Tabu Ley was a vocalist. Although Franco also sang remarkably well and recorded numerous vocal tracks, he began as a guitarist. In his earliest songs, he played only guitar. Over his entire career, he played guitar on more recordings than he sang on. On some occasions, he sang while playing guitar; on others, he played without singing. But only once did he sing without playing guitar, in Suite Lettre 2, which features Michelino on both solo and rhythm guitars.

Tabu Ley, meanwhile, sang or participated in far more songs done by his band than Franco did in OK Jazz. There are many OK Jazz songs in which Franco did not participate at all, compared to Afrisa songs in which Tabu Ley was absent.

Tabu Ley was primarily a vocalist throughout his career; he did not play instruments. Franco, however, was more versatile. If in Nalingaka Yo Te he composed, sang, and played solo guitar, rhythm guitar, and percussion, all by himself, this means he had an additional edge.

Many other differences exist.

But there were also many similarities. Both were bandleaders with exceptional managerial acumen. Keeping a band together for decades is no easy task, especially considering the restlessness of musicians, who are always on the move.

Both were also gifted composers. More than half of each band’s discography was written by the respective leader, although Franco’s output surpasses that of Tabu Ley, despite Tabu Ley living more than two decades longer.

The fluidity of talent between the two bands is another similarity. Musicians came and went throughout their existences—with some leaving only to return, while others departed for good.

The bands also exchanged musicians, another point of convergence. Among the musicians who played with both Afrisa and OK Jazz were Sam Mangwana, Michelino, Loway Empopo, Kiesse Diambu, Madilu System, Dizzy Mandjeku, Ndombe Opetum, Michel Sax, Seskain Molenga, and others.

Interestingly, the two legendary leaders once joined hands in a collaboration that resulted in the Lisanga Ya Banganga album—a development that proved critics wrong after years of rumours about bad blood between them.

Many more striking similarities existed between the two. Twelve years after his death, music fans still hold Tabu Ley in high regard, and numerous commemorative events will be held in Paris and Kinshasa. Radio Jabulani has dedicated several episodes of its programs to this titan of music, described by Rumba Overdose presenter Shady Shihusa as an unmatched golden voice of Congolese rumba.

By Jerome Ogola

Jabulani Radio

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It all came on a Friday morning, October 12, 1989, and it shook Kinshasa. Although gossip about his ill health had circulated like a stubborn whirlwind around Kinshasa for two months, nobody really thought he’d die or was prepared for that. For over three decades, Luambo Luanzo Makiadi had become a mystical figure in the country, so revered that he seemed immortal. His band, OK Jazz, had become the country’s biggest brand due to its iconic status.

The once little boy from Sona Bata, who strummed his self-made three-string instrument to attract patrons to his mother’s business in Ngiri Ngiri, had transformed into a global music powerhouse.

The sombre aura in the band’s first concert after his death captured it so aptly. Lukunku Sampu, the veteran Telezaire broadcaster, attempted to interview the band members, but he himself got overwhelmed by emotions, and his eyes became teary. Indeed, Franco was gone. Truly gone, never to come back again.

It is in the song that the composer Simaro Masiya passionately asks Prof Liyolo, a renowned sculptor, to create a monument for Franco, which he delivered before his own death. When Jabulani Radio inquired from one of the most successful Congolese guitarists why he disbanded his band only to later find himself at OK Jazz as a mere employee, the response was that the band was the home of fame and money. It was every musician’s dream to be at OK Jazz.

Born in Sona Bata in the Bas Congo in 1938, Franco discovered and pursued his talent early in life, true to the words of the adage that states that it isn’t difficult to know which of the young chicks will grow to become the family cockerel. Franco did his maiden recordings on November 17, 1953, backed by Watam Band of Ebengo Dewayon, aka Paul. By then, he was just 15. It is the songs "Kombo Ya Loningisa" and "Lilima Dis Cheri Wa Ngai" that opened the floodgates of recordings that made Franco rise fast as a superstar.

Franco and colleagues from Watam had joined Loningisa as studio musicians, and this was the much-needed boost that set his nascent career on the path to success. It was at Loningisa that Franco had an opportunity to showcase his wizardry on guitar, as he had been taught by Ebengo Dewayon, who afforded him his very first opportunity to play a real guitar, away from his improvisation.

His guitar skills were exemplary, and anyone who has sampled his music can attest to that. So was his songwriting acumen, which is easy to understand by identifying the songs he composed. His versatility is effortlessly covered by the instances in which he played almost all instruments and sang in the 24-minute song "Nalingaka Yo Te.”

His managerial capabilities are admired by many, as manifested by the way he held the band together for three decades. In one of the recorded interviews at Un Deux Trois, Franco introduces his band members by mentioning their names.

When prodded by Lukunku to state who Mayaula Mayoni was, Franco says he had been a footballer and a scholar. Lukunku, the interviewer, then makes a wild conclusion that if the musician had been a footballer and a scholar but chose to switch to music, then apparently that was where the money was.

“Elengi,” Franco interjects, stating that music was fun. Of course, Franco tried to convince him otherwise, but it remains factual that he may not have been as wealthy as speculated, though he surely had the money to pay his musicians — not so well, but better than other bands — and to some extent, that was the glue that held his band members together. He never struggled to pay them. Nonetheless, this shouldn't be misconstrued to mean that he never treated his musicians unfairly.

With the Loningisa label, which he worked with until he established his own record label, Epanza Makita, in 1962, with the help of Grand Kale, Franco released more than 250 songs. It is this batch that drew the world’s attention to him. Franco grew to become a phenomenon. While in Tanzania on a 1973 tour on a state invitation from President Julius Nyerere, he traveled from Dar es Salaam to Arusha in a presidential convoy, complete with the coat of arms, as narrated to Jabulani Radio by Johnes Lemghe, who coordinated the tour as one of the senior government officials then.

When he visited Khartoum in Sudan, a stampede resulted in several deaths, as documented by one of his biographers. The urge to catch a glimpse of the superstar was overwhelming, thus the stampede. When he visited Kisumu, fans had to bring down a brick perimeter wall to forcibly gain entrance into Moi Stadium. No one was willing to remain outside, insulated by a wall from the arena as Franco performed. These episodes illustrate how music fans adored the icon.

Jabulani Radio presenter Shady Shihusa says that, of all African musicians, Franco’s songs are the most requested and offers an explanation:

“Over the years, he always had a masterpiece for every new release, and this kept fans hooked and yearning for more.” He goes ahead and states that this created a near cultish following from his listeners. Indeed, looking at Franco's discography, one notices that almost every year he had new releases that captured the audience's attention.

In his early days, “On Entre OK, On Sort KO” of 1957 gained immense popularity, so much so that it became the band's unofficial anthem. Just before 1963, there were several releases big enough to forecast the fierce competition that was in the offing between OKJ and African Jazz in the 1960s, with Franco capitalizing on new talent — guitarist and composer Simaro, singer Kwamy Munsi, singer Mulamba Mpanya, saxophonist Verckys, among others.

By the mid-1960s, it was now evident that OK Jazz was the biggest musical ensemble in Congo, with songs like “Somele” becoming instant hits. “1966 was the band’s most creative year,” opines William Naz Okoko, while counting more than 50 hit songs of that year, most of them pachanga and bolero subgenres.

Indeed, as much as the band’s guitar formation of Simaro on rhythm with Franco on solo soared in the 1960s, with stiff rivalry from the rival formation of Bavon and Bholen at Negro on bolero, with Vicky Longomba — often referred to as the king of bolero — OK Jazz had very minimal competition.

The band expanded significantly going into the 1970s, with new talents like singers Youlou Mabiala, Josky Kiambukuta, Ndombe Opetum, and others. In the 1980s, Franco spent most of his time abroad in Europe rather than in his native DRC. He was literally globetrotting. When he wasn’t in Europe, he was touring either the USA or Africa. Petit Pierre, aka Pierre Monongi Mopia, narrated to this writer how successful their tours were in Ndola and Lusaka in Zambia. In one of the shows, they had to perform a just-composed song for President Kaunda without any prior rehearsal.

Franco had done and recorded songs for Presidents Léon Mba of Gabon, Eyadema Gnassingbé of Togo, and a host of local Congolese politicians — Bomboko, Kisombe, Luton Mpboti, and others. For Mobutu, he did more than a dozen songs, some on his own volition, while others he was hired to do.

Franco was in a love-hate relationship with Mobutu. In an attempt to dig out Franco’s religiosity and learn how he became a Muslim, this writer learned that Franco never even practiced Islam. That was just a clever trick to beat Mobutu, who had formed a habit of asking Franco to perform at his children’s birthdays, something Franco never liked. Once he converted to Islam, he’d decline such invitations, citing nonconformity to his new religion.

The sheer musical genius of Franco and the country’s love for music made Franco so popular that Mobutu always tried to find a way to associate with him. This, Franco capitalized on and gained much from the arrangement, though his indifference to Mobutu on some issues was also glaring.

This nearly godly status of Franco has not been enjoyed by other musicians before or after him. On guitar alone, Franco belonged to the trinity of the greatest from Congo, which also had Dr. Nico Kasanda and Papa Noel. Alastair Johnston, an American musicologist who has made a bold attempt at documenting African music, points to an instance where Nico passed by Franco’s Un Deux Trois and was able to blend with the band and play Franco’s songs with much ease — as a pointer that Dr. Nico may have had an edge over Franco on guitar, as he doubted if Franco would easily imitate Nico’s guitar.

Otherwise, apart from these comparisons on guitar, it seems that in any other aspect, Luambo was incomparable. He was in a class of his own. True to the words of Mangwana, as captured in Ewen Greame’s book on Franco, it takes the world a century or so to produce a Franco. He was indeed iconic.

Music lovers surely miss him. A series of concerts has been planned to mark his 36th anniversary in Nairobi, Paris, and Kinshasa. Among them is a Jabulani Radio Franco 36th Anniversary Fete to be held at Hotel Mercury at the heart of Nairobi CBD on October 18th. This is one man the world isn’t in any hurry to forget.

By Jerome Ogola

Jabulani Radio

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This song tells the history of a city that began as an arena for barter trade, or "Sumo," where communities exchanged the goods they produced for those from their neighbors. It wasn’t until the railway arrived that the traditional sounds which defined the area began to disappear, gradually giving way to modern influences.

"Ndege aidho tera Winam yeeh Aidho gari tera Wigot Mtoka aidho tera Kisumu Aidho meli tera Winam Boda boda soya Kondele"

This verse, which lists the modes of transport one can use to travel to various parts of the town, introduces the geography of Kisumu. The city sits on the shores of Lake Victoria, previously known as "Nam Lolwe" before colonialism.

Depending on your destination, your transport could be a bicycle taxi, train, matatu, boat, or airplane. The song sparked curiosity among those who had never set foot in the town.

The song made Suzanna an instant celebrity as it became central to the centenary celebrations. But who is Suzanna Owiyo? The songbird was born in the rocky highlands of Upper Nyakach, in a village known as Kasaye, in what is now Kisumu County, in 1975. At that time, it was Kisumu District.

She was born into a polygamous family of fourteen children. She grew up in Thika, Central Kenya, which exposed her to different cultures. Coming from a family with a renowned orutu player, she developed an interest in music early in life while still in school.

After completing her studies, she took up odd jobs in the city, even as the urge to become a musician kept growing. Her debut came when she joined Sally Oyugi as a backup vocalist. Later, she switched to become a singer with Bora Bora Sounds, which performed in various spots around the city.

Her big break came with "Kisumu 100," which she composed for the city’s centennial celebrations. Kisumu was founded in 1901, so the event was marked in 2001. The song gave her national fame and made her a household name. It even earned her a Kora Award in 2000.

Apart from performing at Kisumu’s centennial celebrations before an audience that included regional presidents, Suzanna also performed at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo when Professor Wangari Maathai received her laureate. She also graced Nelson Mandela’s birthday celebrations in Hyde Park, London, in 2008, and has performed in several other African cities.

With her easy style and the stylish acoustic guitar she strums along to during her performances, Suzanna has also charmed award organizers. Her music has earned her a Kisima Award, Kenya’s equivalent of the Grammy.

Suzanna’s rise placed her firmly in the country’s top league of female musicians, a space once dominated by great voices such as Queen Jane, Babito, Princess Jully, and Achieng Abura. Unlike many of her peers, she carved a unique niche by blending traditional Luo instrumentation with contemporary rhythms, an art that made her music appeal to both the older rural folk and the urbane youth.

Her artistry demonstrated that women could not only sing and dance but also lead bands and excel as instrumentalists.

Though she hasn’t released many songs, some of her most popular works, apart from "Kisumu 100," include "Mama Africa," "Yamo Kudho," and "Malaika." Suzanna, who is married and has a child, is also a devoted activist and participates in numerous awareness campaigns, as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Away from music, she is developing an art center in Riat to help nurture young talent. Most women who have excelled in music have been vocalists or dancers, but rarely instrumentalists. As one of the few female musicians who is also an instrumentalist, Suzanna Owiyo is truly iconic.

By The Rumba Monk

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